Reddit Plans To Become A Search Engine - 1

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Reddit Plans To Become A Search Engine

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

Reddit’s CEO Steve Huffman said the company is investing in improving its search capabilities during the latest earnings call on Thursday. He noted that the focus is on areas that can drive better results, including “making Reddit a go-to search engine.”

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

  • Reddit is investing in improving its search capabilities.
  • CEO Steve Huffman said the company is working on “making Reddit a go-to search engine.”
  • Over 70 million users already use the platform as a search tool every week.

According to The Verge , Huffman explained to investors that “every week, hundreds of millions of people come to Reddit looking for advice.” Reddit’s goal is to turn that traffic into engaging results.

“We’re turning more of that intent into active users of Reddit’s native search,” added Huffman during the call.

Reddit has over 70 million weekly active users who rely on the platform’s core search, and around 416.4 million users interact with the platform every week.

Just a few weeks ago, Reddit became the second most cited site in Google AI Overviews —after Quora—highlighting the platform’s role in providing niche information that is often difficult to find elsewhere.

In order to expand the platform’s search capabilities, Huffman said the company will be “expanding Reddit Answers globally, integrating it more deeply into the core search experience, and making search a central feature across Reddit.”

According to Engadget , Reddit has already been working on leveraging AI by integrating its LLM-powered search. Now, Huffman suggests the platform has the potential to become a search engine in its own right. In fact, many users already treat Reddit as one.

“Our focus right now is on unifying the Reddit search, like traditional search on Reddit, which is very widely used on Reddit, and the new Reddit answers product … we’re unifying those into a single search experience, and we’re going to bring that front and center in the app,” said Huffman.

Google Turns 2 Billion Smartphones Into Global Earthquake Warning System - 2

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Google Turns 2 Billion Smartphones Into Global Earthquake Warning System

  • Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

A new study reports that Google’s system converted 2 billion smartphones into an earthquake early-warning network which functions equally well as traditional seismometers.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

  • Google uses over 2 billion smartphones for earthquake early warnings.
  • Android Earthquake Alerts detected 11,000+ quakes from 2021 to 2024.
  • Google’s alerts complement official systems but sometimes underestimate large quakes.

The Android Earthquake Alerts system operated by Google detected 11,000 earthquakes through phone accelerometer data between 2021 and 2024 and delivered 1,200 alerts to users across 98 nations.

LiveScience argues that the innovation has expanded earthquake warning distribution to reach 2.5 billion people instead of the previous 250 million users in 2019.

“Earthquakes are a constant threat to communities around the globe,” Google representatives said . “What if we could give people a few precious seconds of warning before the shaking starts? Those seconds can be enough time to get off a ladder, move away from dangerous objects and take cover.”

Traditional earthquake alert systems work via expensive seismic stations, which provide coverage to limited regions of earthquake-prone countries. The AEA system of Google operates instead through Android smartphone and smartwatch motion sensors, which are in-built to these devices.

These sensors detect fast-moving P-waves, which typically precede destructive shaking, and which determine earthquake size and location.

Operating in countries including Greece, Turkey, the U.S., Japan, and Indonesia, AEA had sent 1,279 alerts as of March 2024, as reported by LiveScience. User feedback showed 85% of people experiencing quakes got alerts, with 36% receiving warnings before shaking began.

Only three alerts were false, triggered by thunderstorms or unrelated events. However, the system is not free of error, and was found to underestimate the size of some large earthquakes.

In one of the most serious incidents, Google’s AEA system failed to alert around 10 million people during the deadly 2023 earthquake in Turkey. Only 469 phones received the high-priority “Take Action” alert, despite Android devices being used by over 70% of Turkey’s population. The system initially underestimated the tremor’s strength, predicting magnitudes of 4.5 and 4.9, when in fact the quake measured 7.8. This mistake deprived many of a potentially life-saving 35-second warning.

Google acknowledged the failure, reaffirming the AEA system’s supplementary role alongside national alert networks.

Google emphasizes that AEA is designed to supplement, not replace, official warning systems. “AEA demonstrates that globally distributed smartphones can be used to detect earthquakes and issue warnings at scale with an effectiveness comparable to established national systems,” the researchers said.